Ex-Footballer Helps Players Get College Scholarships

4AllPlayers is for footballers 16 and over.

Statistics have been collected on the numbers of young players who experience extreme depression from not being signed by the senior or second teams of their Academies. For many players, this can be devastating.

Fortunately, as this is being recognized, people are stepping in to try and help these young men and women. One gentleman is someone whose name you may recognize from his time playing professional football is Ciarán Toner. The former player from Northern Ireland moved through the Tottenham youth academy and was promoted to the first team during the 2000-1 season.

Ciaran has played Peterborough United, the Bristol Rovers, Leyton Orient and Lincoln City. He also spent time with Cambridge United and Grimbsy Town and was part of the Rochdale side that earned their promotion to League One.

I had initially spoken with Ciaran with the intent of learning more about this cutting-edge training program and seeing if it might be a useful tool for my son. During our conversation, my interest was captured by his discussion about another program he has recently co-founded with a gentleman named John Brandon. John is a specialist when it comes to US scholarships.

The two of them have started a program for young footballers from the age of 16. It is called 4 All Players Ltd. It can assist with recruiting players for US scholarships. John’s knowledge has contributed to their success with connecting players and scholarships. 4 All Players Ltd will be providing necessary support to provide players with opportunities to continue their education whilst continuing to play and train at a high level.

4 All Players also provides a platform to support players, coaches and clubs in the UK. (This is outside of their work with US scholarships).

A few years ago, colleges were offering competitive scholarship packages for UK players. Many felt that the standard of play in the UK was better than that of the US and that bringing these students over would enhance US programs. Some UK players were offered full rides, even though the US players would usually only receive a partial sports scholarship.

This is beginning to change. As the standard of US soccer is improving, more US players are now receiving college scholarships, but there are still ways for foreign students to compete for these scholarships.

4 All Players Ltd. is primarily geared towards British and Italian students. As they grow, they may change this. They have a cap of 100 student athletes that they can assist each year.

Students who participate in this program still need to meet the admissions requirements of the US colleges they hope to enter. They will need to take the SAT or ACT college entrance examination.

Motivation to work with 4 All Players

I was curious why Ciaran was interested in starting a business in this area since there are already established programs that assist with finding US scholarships for footballers. He acknowledged this but still wanted to do something on his own to help these players as well. He wanted to do something that was giving back to the community and he felt this would be a great way because it gives them an education, something that may do far more for them in the long run.

If you are a British or Italian player who has recently been released from your club or who wants to explore educational opportunities in the US, you can learn more about them on the website at https://www.4allplayers.com and you can reach out to 4 All Players Ltd by email at info@4allplayers.com